Walmart Neighborhood Market at Republic and Golden will open on May 16. Photographed on Friday, April 27, 2012. / Valerie Mosley/News-Leader

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The judge presiding over the lawsuit repeatedly mentioned how confused he was.

By the end of the four-hour ordeal, everyone walked out a little lost.

Judge Gerald McBeth, a visiting judge appointed to the case after all of the Greene County judges recused themselves, is presiding over a lawsuit brought by a local church against the city of Springfield.

The City Council had approved a zoning plan allowing for a Walmart Neighborhood Market on the property — currently owned by the Life360 church. But a citizens group opposed to the idea successfully submitted a referendum petition that put the decision to a vote.

The church then sued the city to prevent the election.

Friday’s hearing, though, didn’t result in any sort of decision on whether an election can take place. What it did result in, aside from a decision that citizens hoping to join the suit were denied, was a date set for another hearing to give the judge time to read briefs presented in the case.

“I’ll be glad to look at the briefs, because I am thoroughly confused,” McBeth said.

He noted how complex the case was and said he felt the issue could be better handled by another court with more expertise.

“Hopefully someone takes this to the court of appeals, because I have no idea what you are talking about,” McBeth said.

After both parties agreed on Aug. 9 as the next hearing date, City Attorney Dan Wichmer asked the judge to clarify whether motions from outside citizens to join the case would be taken up at that time.

During the first few hours of the hearing, attorneys Jason Umbarger and Bryan Wade had argued their clients’ interests weren’t being represented.

After Wichmer’s question, the judge responded that he had already ruled that no one else would be allowed to join the case.

A docket entry in the case file generated afterward noted that ruling.

Both Umbarger and Wade seemed surprised by the decision, made just before the hearing ended.

Wade asked the judge if he should still file additional documents that the judge had asked for earlier in the day.

The judge said no, because Wade was not a party to the case, although earlier he had allowed Wade to speak, even after the church’s lawyer objected that Wade had no standing in the case.

Action preventing vote still in place

The order preventing the election is still in place, meaning the earliest that a decision on the matter will be made is Aug. 9, the next hearing date.

At that hearing, the judge will decide whether a portion of the city charter allowing referendum petitions in zoning matters is in line with state law.

The judge did give a preliminary indication that the city used the correct number of signatures to determine if the petition was appropriate and that the referendum itself had the proper title — something the church disputed.